What have Pennsylvania's federal lawmakers been doing during the shutdown?
They've been giving floor speeches. Marching to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's office and leaving a note. Pushing legislation regarding the hundreds of thousands of federal workers left in unpaid limbo.
Neither side of the political aisle is budging on the month-long federal shutdown, and while there hasn't been enough pressure to break the impasse, there's been enough for members of Congress to at least appear to be doing something.
A bipartisan Senate group circulated a draft letter to call for reopening the government and then debating the issue of border security and President Donald Trump's wall proposal. Neither of Pennsylvania's U.S. senators signed on to that now-scuttled proposal.
While that Senate small-group was unsuccessfully negotiating behind the scenes, the U.S. House — now controlled by Democrats — has voted eight times on measures to reopen the government.
Republican U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, of Bucks County, has been the rare GOP legislator to back those. He also teamed up with Democratic Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, of Delaware County, for a social-media plea about the urgent need to end the shutdown.
The bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus was invited this week to meet with Trump at the White House. But Fitzpatrick, the group's vice chairman, was not among them. Another House Republican from Pennsylvania, Rep. Lloyd Smucker of Lancaster, did score an invite to the meeting.
For her part, U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, a freshman Democrat representing the Lehigh Valley, has been drafting and backing bills. Wild introduced a measure to ensure that Coast Guard members — who missed their first paycheck this week — get paid for their work. She also signed on to a colleague's bill that would offer interest-free loans to federal workers struggling to pay bills as they await their back-pay.
"Keep in mind: this is not a giveaway program," Wild said at a news conference introducing the bill. "It gives these workers access to funds to which they are entitled at zero percent interest. There is no reason why their credit card bills and mortgage bills should go unpaid."
Wild also donated part of her pay to an organization in the 7th District that has been impacted by the shutdown: Turning Point of Lehigh Valley, which offers social services to abuse victims. Wild declined to say how much she donated, adding that she plans to do the same with other groups impacted by the shutdownin the district.
The group's executive director, Lori Sywensky, said the funding it receives from the Department of Justice is expected to continue through February. But there's uncertainty surrounding future grant dollars as the shutdown drags on, as well as uncertainty its clients regarding housing and food assistance, she added.
Wild said she's hoping House members can put pressure on the Senate to take up the government-funding bills they've been sending. She was among a group of House freshmen who strode across the Capitol, with reporters in tow, to drop off a letter urging McConnell to bring those bills to a vote.
Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey says the only way forward is some sort of compromise between the amount of wall funding sought by Trump, and the congressional Democrats' position that they won't provide any money for a border wall.
In the meantime, Toomey said he's backing two bills to aid those caught in the middle. One would pay those working without pay; the other would prevent future lapses by automatically extending funding if Congress fails to pass a spending bill.
"It is time to end government by crisis," Toomey said. "Every time Congress can't agree on a funding bill, it's our constituents and government employees that bear the brunt of Washington's dysfunction."